May 11, 2006 - The Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF), the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Training Center (SEAMEO RETRAC) announce the working visits of distinguished U.S. experts to Vietnam from May 6-27, 2006, within the framework of a VEF-sponsored Quality Assessment Initiative for computer science, electrical engineering, and physics at four select Vietnamese universities.

The goal of this assessment project is to better understand how new models and approaches to undergraduate education contribute to increased teaching effectiveness in order to increase overall capacity in science and technology in Vietnam. "The purpose of this project is to assess the status of undergraduate education in computer science, electrical engineering, and physics; to make recommendations for strengthening education in these disciplines; and to assist Vietnamese universities in implementing changes for improvement," commented Dr. Lynne McNamara, VEF Director of Programs. Dr. McNamara expects that this exercise will produce an educational assessment model for continuous improvement that can be applied to other fields of undergraduate education in Vietnam.

The prestigious U.S. National Academies is also involved in this project and strongly supports the VEF assessment project. "We have selected leading American experts in assessment and in the selected scientific and engineering fields to join this effort," stated Dr. Ray Gamble, Director, Fellowships Office, National Research Council. The U.S. experts are from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), Cornell University, Drexel University, Harvard University, Syracuse University, and other well known universities.

The MOET Departments of Higher Education and of Testing and Accreditation are working closely with VEF for the assessment visits. As a co-sponsor, SEAMEO RETRAC expressed strong support for the Assessment Project. Dr. Do Huy Thinh, Director of SEAMEO RETRAC, said: "The project will help improve the quality of our higher education. We are happy to provide related technical assistance and to share our professional expertise throughout the entire project. In addition, SEAMEO RETRAC hopes to develop further cooperation with VEF by holding training workshops, seminars, and conferences on topics of mutual interest."

As part of the Quality Assessment Initiative, VEF, MOET, and SEAMEO RETRAC will host full-day public panel discussions from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the topics of accreditation and assessment in the morning and on building relationships between industry and academia in the afternoon. The same topics will be addressed both in HCMC and in Hanoi on the following days: in HCMC on Friday, May 12, at SEAMEO RETRAC, 35 Le Thanh Ton, District 1, and in Hanoi on Thursday, May 18, at MOET, 49 Dai Co Viet. The target audience is Vietnamese professionals in assessment and accreditation; faculty members and administrators of Vietnamese universities and colleges that offer Computer Science/IT, Electrical Engineering, and Physics programs; and industry representatives in Vietnam.